It was a “Frontiers of Science Celestial Synapse.” A what? What’s Frontiers of Science? What’s a synapse, and what’s the Grateful Dead’s name doing among the lines of medieval Irish script, the kind preferred for church bulletins?

The answer to the questions raised by the classy printed invitations was unquestionably the best musical gathering in months. Fifteen hundred invitations were sent out for the February 19 event, and though there was no other announcement, probably double that number attended. Everyone was treated to the best vibrations and some of the best music the Fillmore West had seen in some time.

After a stirring oboe and bagpipe introduction by the Golden Toad, Don Hamrick of Frontiers of Science spoke for a few minutes in a gentle rural accent, addressing the crowd as “the Goodly Company.” “It is our hope,” he said, “that this evening there will be an opening and a free interchange, so that something new may emerge. Let the barriers fall, let there be a merging.”

The article goes on to describe the Dead’s role:

Then the Grateful Dead began a set that ran for four hours or so with scarcely an interruption. “I haven’t seen anything like this in years — it’s like one of the old Ken Kesey Acid Tests,” said Bob Thomas, piper of the Toad and, like the Dead, veteran of many an Acid Test, “– only it’s less hectic and confused. It’s fucking amazing.” People were handing each other flowers, joints, funny incomprehensible little picket signs four inches high.

The Dead played continuously, a flowing improvisatory set of new material. (Originally the concert was to be recorded for inclusion on the next Dead album, but last-minute difficulties in setting up the recording equipment scotched that.) Three light shows were playing, at no charge to the sponsors. The Grateful Dead and Bill Graham donated their services for free. Invitations had gone out to people in music and a broad range of psychedelic tribes — from Rancho Olompali and other communes to the Hells Angels. Many Frontiers of Science people and other communards could be seen embracing each other, greeting strangers, dancing and celebrating.

Apparently, the whole night was the beginning of a five-day Frontiers of Science conference. Frontiers of Science was the brainchild of Don Hamrick, a modern-day prophet who was supposedly called to “establish order and unity on earth and to connect the physical and metaphysical aspects of science.” He believed there was a

which is affected by human vibrations and which may either change shape (a creative change) or change size (a destructive change, since it would cause earthquakes). The idea is to send down good vibrations to change the shape of that crystal, and the Celestial Synapse may very well have done just that.